Do You Need a Mentor?

Sometimes we need to make ourselves available and become a mentor.  I hoped to encourage each of us to do so in this post.  I also mentioned having felt inadequate, as I’m sure most of have felt at one time or another; however, without a doubt, when we are willing to mentor someone else, we end up with the largest portion of blessing.  It happens all the time! 

For me, even more of a struggle than mentoring is being mentored.  At any age or any stage of life, we can all benefit from the wisdom and experience of someone else further down the road…or someone who has already been through a phase you are facing.  When my son was first diagnosed – and certainly when we began our journey through grief – how wonderful it would have been to know someone that had already been down that dark and unknown path.  Someone who could understand and empathize.  Someone who could offer advice – or could simply hold my hand.  Yes, I had a wonderful support system but I did not know, at that time, another grieving mom.

Your phase might be a new mom or a mom of three under the age of four.  Perhaps you are nearing the empty nest stage of life or even being widowed.  No matter your age or how long you have been a Christian, life is always moving forward and always has its share of challenges.  Having someone you can trust and confide in…having somewhere you can share your heart or simply share a story…all of these are of great value and a tremendous blessing.

Being mentored means making yourself vulnerable – and I think that is the challenge for most.  Of course, this puts us at risk or being hurt.  But I think the potential reward far outways the risk.  To minimize the risk, pray carefully about who might mentor you.  Ask God to open doors or to point you to someone specific that you could ask to mentor you.  Your mentor does not need to be the wisest, or even the godliest, Christian you know.  Sometimes the perfect mentor simply needs to be willing to listen and pray alongside you. Let God lead you to the right one.

Some mentor relationships might be as simple as chats over coffee and may only last a short season.  Others may develop into a life-long friendship that you could never have expected.  Either way, take advantage of relationships where you can be mentored…..stretched, encouraged, supported and molded more into the image of Christ.